China is witnessing a huge travel rush during the New Year holiday. (Representational Pic)
A man in China used an innovative way to ensure his daughter reaches home on time for Lunar New Year. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the man, surnamed Wang, flew the seven-year-old girl to their rural hometown in a two-seater plane to avoid the heavy traffic jam. Mr Wang told the outlet that it took him 50 minutes to fly to his parents' home, which is two hours quicker than driving. The man lives in eastern China's Anhui province and trains pilots.
"The small airplane we used cost 1.1 million yuan ($155,000), and could fly 1,200 kilometres on a full tank of fuel," he said.
Mr Wang added that he applied for the use of route a few hours in advance, and checked for the permission to park the plane at the flying camp near his parents' home.
China is witnessing a huge rush during the Lunar New Year holiday, with travellers heading back to their hometowns and families preparing for traditional reunion dinner gatherings.
The country has been adding travel capacity to help smooth transportation after harsh weather threatened trips for millions returning home for the holiday. Some 1,873 passenger trains were added on one day across a vast railway network, a record according to state media outlet Global Times.
SCMP said that the travel rush is expected to last for 40 days - from January 26 to March 5. Quoting China's Ministry of Transport, the outlet further said it is estimated that a record nine billion passenger journeys will take place during the period.
Wang's decision to choose a plane to beat the traffic on road is making waves on Chinese social media platforms.
"What I consider a luxury childhood dream is someone else's real life," one user wrote on Douyin. "What a brilliant way to avoid Spring Festival traffic jams," said another.
In the busiest travel migration period in the world, 13.1 million passengers rode on China's national railway on Wednesday last week.